Fudge Friday: Rotten Heel

We all mess up sometimes. It’s part of being human. And I’m going to use this space to discuss the times I’ve done it in knitting. Hey, you never know…maybe I’ll occasionally even use the space to talk about the times I’ve messed up in life. I’m calling it Fudge Fridays because I’m trying not to use the other fu… word.

Recently, I designed socks. (If you’re interested in testing them, follow me on Instagram, or sign up for my testing newsletter). They’re highly cabled with a smidgeon of lace. I think the main cable looks like a delicate shield, and I love how the cables to each side complement the main cable.

The good sock - blocking.

In any case, this particular sock was being knit from the cuff down, meaning I was having a grand time knitting all over cables. Now, in my head I knew that there was a difference in gauge between the cable and the Stockinette stitch sole, but I thought (wrongly) that I could adjust for this after the heel flap was done by having more gusset decreases.

Turns out I couldn’t because it makes the gusset too long, making for a baggy sock. So, R I P went the gusset, R I P went the heel turn, R I P went the heel flap. And as all you sock knitters know, those are the parts of the sock where you use the most energy. The rest (cuff and foot) are usually smooth sailing.

This is the moment I decided to rip. You can see the sock is off the needles. Here goes…

I was a bit frustrated, but after sitting awhile to think about it, I decided to decrease before I started the flap. Voilà. All better!